Apple has posted a preview by Brad Cook on its Games web pages of Stronghold, the new castle-building real-time strategy simulation from MacSoft. Here's an excerpt:

Early in the film Excalibur, a young King Arthur rides with his loyal knights to assist Leondegrance, whose castle is under siege by enemy forces. In a pitched battle, Arthur defeats the enemy knights, bringing the mythic hero one step closer to unifying Britain under his rule.

If you've ever wished that a videogame could capture the power and excitement of that moment, then the castle-builder/real-time strategy (RTS) game Stronghold is for you. It's the latest title from MacSoft, who made sure you can visit the Middle Ages in either Mac OS X or Mac OS 9.

Firefly Studios developed Stronghold, and executive producer/co-designer Eric Ouellette says: "We thought that a medieval setting with a blend of strong builder and RTS elements would make a fantastic game. The medieval period had a lot of fantastic siege equipment, pageantry, weaponry, and customs. We really wanted to focus in on these areas and give people a flavor of what it was like to live in medieval times."